Before making my way to the bunnies' village in the morning, I found a shop specialized in selling carts in Geola. I bought a manual one, the type I could pull by myself, which I thought would be perfect as a temporary transportation method for goods when in front of other people.
When I reached the village, I found myself pulling my cart among many other merchants. Some had large ones pulled by four-legged animals that I believed were called horses. Others were like me, pulling their carts on their own, especially the larger species.
I had no trouble entering the place this time since the guards had been informed about me. The many traders dispersed in all directions, moving toward the bunnies they had a contract with. I however noticed that most of them had frowns or disapproving expressions whenever they watched any bunny pass by. It wasn't the face of people with amiable relationships with their trading partners. The bunnies themselves carefully avoided all the people coming from outside, with only one exception.
"Oh, hello. Are you Tila, the new merchant contracted with the Muyals?"
A bunny woman with a large ribbon on her head greeted me as I passed by. Due to Berki's generous intelligence offering the previous night, I knew that folks in the outer world were relatively weak to praise and positive reactions. Contrary to her wish, I planned to act the exact opposite of how she wanted me to behave. Any advantage I had was precious and needed to be used to its full potential. I responded with my best smile.
"Good morning to you, ma'am. Your ribbon looks splendid on you. You're right about that. I'll be coming here every day starting today. I hope to be able to see you often."
She put a hand on her cheeks and blushed slightly.
"Oh my, you're exactly as I heard. It's nice to meet you too. You should get going before it gets too late, young man."
"Yes. Have a nice day, ma'am."
Barely a few meters further, I was stopped by a young bunny woman.
"Good morning. Tila, right?"
It felt like everyone in this village already knew about me for some reason.
"Hello, miss. That's me. Wow, your fur is shining so charmingly today. How do you take care of it?"
I had no idea if my random praise was correct or not but she didn't seem to dislike it. Just like the previous woman, her face flushed a little as she answered.
"Huh? I… I'm not doing anything special."
"So it's natural? By Sel, you're one blessed bunny."
I continued my way after a short greeting, leaving the young woman frozen in place. Just like that, I chattered with any bunny that passed by while on my way to my destination. When I was there, I left the cart in front of the house and knocked on the door. It was almost immediately opened by Tilen, the youngest in the family.
"Tila! Welcome!"
"Tilen! You look cool today too!"
"Hehe."
"Come in, Tila."
Following the child's father's injunction, I entered the home. The family seemed to be in the middle of breakfast, or whatever meal number it was at this time of the day.
"Did you eat yet? Come join us."
"Thank you."
I was seated at the table, together with the rest of the family. I noticed that Kuini was wearing the brooch I had gifted her the day prior. After greeting everyone, I was given some simple but filling food, which also tasted great at the same time. I was the one who initiated the conversation today.
"I was recognized by a lot of villagers today. Did the news about me spread so quickly already?"
This made Zay laugh.
"It didn't spread, my wife spread it. She's been going around talking about you all evening yesterday. You know how it is, there's not much entertainment in a village like this. People pass the time by spreading rumors."
"I didn't think stories about me would be so interesting. I met a lot of other merchants on my way here this morning."
"Then you must know from their attitude, right? We don't have such a friendly relationship with them but you're different. I'm sure a lot of bunnies will be interested in you."
"Why?"
"To get news about Geola. To chat with an outsider. Or just by simple curiosity. Maybe more too, who knows, haha."
"Dad…"
"Whoops, my bad. That's not a topic for the first meal."
Kuini scolded her father while I gave her my usual grin. Just like the previous day, she avoided my eyes whenever I looked at her. I didn't let the conversation die yet.
"I had the feeling there were more women than men in the village. Am I mistaken about that?"
It was Waja who answered me this time.
"You're not mistaken. Sadly, a lot of men don't make it to this village. They're often the first to fall outside of Geola's domain. They're under the most pressure and are worked to death in those places. Men bunnies also never leave without their family and they're the last ones to escape whenever they're rescued. A lot of women who live here lost their husbands due to these circumstances."
"I see. I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."
"It's not your fault. Now that you know, try to avoid the topic in the village."
"Yes."
We continued chatting, finding more joyous topics to start the day with. When the meal ended, Zay turned toward me.
"All right, you should go get the crops."
"Yes. Here's the money."
I gave him the agreed 86 silvers and he pocketed them happily.
"Kuini. Show him to the warehouse."
This startled his daughter.
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
She glanced at me before looking away again.
"Okay…"
We exited the house together. As soon as the door was closed, she shyly talked to me.
"Please follow, my Lord."
"Huh? What Lord? I'm a small merchant. Just call me Tila."
She shook her head hard. I wasn't sure what to do in this weird situation.
"Um… Try it. Ti-la. Easy, right?"
She shook her head even more violently this time.
"No?"
She nodded and I was left bewildered. If this was my world, I would have thought she wanted to do some role-play or something. Unfortunately, I doubted this was her intention here.